Last Summer I blogged about my disappointment at an episode of Bravo's Top Chef competition reality show in which contestants' only guideline for creating a heart-healthy dish was making it "low in cholesterol."This led to the usage of meats low in cholesterol but high in saturated fat.
Ironically, saturated fat is more detrimental to blood cholesterol levels than dietary cholesterol.
One contestant was specifically chastised for using lobster -- a higher-cholesterol food containing Omega-3 fatty acids and almost no saturated fat -- while others were praised for using red meats lower in cholesterol but chock full of saturated fat.
I just finished watching this week's episode of Top Chef (currently in its fourth season) and am experiencing a major case of déjà vu.
This time around, the seven remaining contestants were asked to create healthy meals for Chicago's police officers, who often turn to unhealthy fast food dishes for lunch.
The chefs had complete freedom to make whatever dish struck their fancy as long as it contained one whole grain, one lean protein, one fruit, and one vegetable.
Great so far.
Then, on the heels of host Padma Lakshmi talking about this country's battle with obesity and diabetes, they threw in an additional seemingly random rule about dishes being "low carb" and "low sugar."
Huh? A low-carb dish that must include whole grains?
Adding to the "tacked on" feeling of that rule is the fact that when it came to judging, carbohydrate content was not an issue (and it shouldn't be; high fiber is more important than low carb in my book).
I digress.
Spaztic contestant Andrew D'Ambrosi -- who made a poorly reviewed salmon maki roll substituting raw parsnips and pinenuts for rice -- spent a large portion of this episode obnoxiously bragging about the 2 years he spent studying nutrition.
In one scene, he is seen recommending to a fellow "cheftestant" that she not use shrimp since they are high in cholesterol and, therefore, do not fulfill the "healthy" requirement of the challenge.
Andrew, back to nutrition school for you!
Let's put this to rest once and for all. Shrimp are healthy.
Yes, they are higher in cholesterol than other aquatic animals, but dietary cholesterol is less related to blood cholesterol than saturated fat.
Here's the better news -- three ounces of shrimp only provide 0.2 grams of saturated fat. That's a mere 1% of the recommended daily maximum limit.
It also doesn't hurt that those three ounces pack in 18 grams of protein, 300 milligrams of Omega-3 fatty acids, 48% of the selenium requirement, 21% of the Vitamin B12 requirement, and 15% of a day's worth of iron... all in an 84 calorie package!
I am not calling for shrimp to be a daily staple, but don't cast them aside because of their cholesterol profile.
Maybe next time I'll post a Chris Crocker inspired "Leave shrimp alone!" video...
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5 comments:
I read about your blog from your post on TWOP. This is a great blog and it's nice to see someone who knows that dietary cholesterol has little impact on blood cholesterol. Even more so, there is debate about whether cholesterol numbers really matter that much anyway vs. triglycerides.
I've bookmarked your blog and will visit often, thank you for offering it.
One cool thing I learned from Top Chef was about purslane. I was shocked to find this growing like a weed in my back yard. I now use it in all kinds of dishes and I'm delighted to have found something so delicous and healthful that I can have for free. I was happy to learn it's about 2x as nutritious as spinach.
I have eaten low carb for nearly 10 years now but I do occasionally try to incorporate some whole grains like barley and wild rice and whole grain pasta. It's more the south beach diet approach than the atkins approach to low carbing, but I think in general it provides a more balanced diet. The key is to largely avoid any starches that convert quickly to sugar. Things like brown and wild rice for example have less impact on blood sugar than white rice, most bread, or potatoes. So they are actually OK in moderation and small quantities.
Although whole grains like quinoa, whole wheat pasta, and wild rice are higher in fiber, they are not the first things that come to mind if someone asks to make a "low carb" dish.
I get what the producers meant -- a "diabetic-friendly" meal that would not spike up blood glucose levels.
It was poorly worded. It would be like asking the contestants to make a low-fat meal but asking them to include heart-healthy fats (in this example, low-fat is used incorrectly to mean "low saturated fat").
It's pretty clear that neither the chefs, nor the judges, nor the producers know much about nutrition. I really don't understand the "low carb" dictate - these are cops and cadets, not a group of diabetics. It would have made much more sense to say "low saturated fat, high protein, low sugar". Even better, give some actual guidance on what those standards meant (i.e. x grams saturated fat, etc.), since it's clear that the judges and chefs had no objective basis on which to decide if the dishes met the standards. Heck, they could have brought in a nutritionist like they did for the camp challenge in Sam's season.
I love that Walter Willett is one of your tags! He's amazing!
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